Divers in Lake Huron find 1927 Chevrolet Coupe in ship wreckage

One of the world’s oldest intact shipwrecks has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea.
Buzz60

A 1927 Chevrolet Coupe, clearly visible inside the side openings of the wreck, was owned by the cattle man, Donald Wallace, the only passenger survivor of the Manasoo's sinking in Sept. 1928.(Photo: Greg Hilliard)

An international team of divers and searchers found the wreckage of the 178-foot-long steel-steamer Manasoo deep in Georgian Bay near Ontario, which sank during a storm in late 1928.

Among the invasive quagga and zebra mussels covering the ship's entirety, was a muscle car: a 1927 Chevrolet Coupe.

During a Sept. 14, 1928, trek to Owen Sound from Manitoulin Island, near Lake Huron, with 17 crew members, four passengers and 116 head of cattle, the ship hit heavy seas and attempted to head to the nearest shore, ultimately sinking. Only five people survived, including Donald Wallace, a cattleman and the owner of the Coupe.

The Manasoo's wheel can be seen inside the still intact pilot house.(Photo: Terry Irvine)

The ship's wreckage, along with the vintage automobile, was found this past summer by a group of six divers and searchers. Cris Kohl, a historian, was among the crew.

"After we found the Manasoo, I delved deeper into the 1928 accounts of the sinking's aftermath," said Kohl in a statement. He then found a newspaper record that "gave the exact location and the accurate depth of the shipwreck."

It is likely that the 1927 Coupe still looks the way it did when it rolled aboard in 1928.

But the team is hoping to learn more about why the ship sank and the stern filled with water to begin with. That, the statement read, "is not likely to be determined any time soon."